Spurious coin detector and ejector



' E. DE RYSS SPURIOUS coINBET EcToR AND EJECTOR Feb. 7, 1933.

Filed Dec. 11, 1930 COIN CONTROLLED DEVICE.

INVENTO ATTORNEY6 A? ':/3 K K W 7 A5 l6 Z6 i W Patented Feb. 7, 1933EMII; DB RYSS, 0F SGARSDAL'E, NEW YORK SPURIOUS COIN DETECTQR AND;EJ'EGTOB Applicat on and, Decemb r 11.. use, swam sol/ sa,

This invention relates to spurious: coin detectors and. eieetorsand hasparticular refer ence to a. device for disorim nating between spuriousand bona fide coins inserted in coincontrolled machines or t e purposeof purchase, and for ejecting the spurious. coins while utilizing thebona fide coins,

Coin detectors used heretofore relied for their eiiectiveness on theWeight, diame er, h clmess of. the coin or the like, but, as,counterfeit coins are usually approximately the weight and size Of thecorresponding bona tide coins, thcywould operate the machine,

while bona, fide coins. whic had been mutilated or worn thin and thusbecome light, would be rejected 1 Other former spurious coin detectors,such asthe electrical types, were too slowand complicated to beeffective in. installations Where the machines were, operated rapidly,and they were also too, delicate to. be durable. Accordingly, manyobjections to the former coindetectors hav arisen, which has renderedtheir value questionable. r V

The spurious; coin detector and ejector of this invention obviates theobjections; of the f rmer types a d is positive, rapid and nfallible initsaction, It operates upon the scleroscopic principle, that is to say,it takes, advantage of the resiliency or springiness of. metal of whichbona fide coins are made, as, compared to lesser resiliency of aspurious coin, which might have other characteristics identical to thebona fide coin, such as weight, diameter, thickness, hardness, ring,electrical conductivity or resistance and he like. Specific gravityalso. enters into; the problem, as it affects the trajectory of thecoinbefore and afterimpact.

In order to illustrate the use of the scleroscopic principle in thedevice of this invention, assume that a bona fide coin and any number ofspurious coins of the same supposed de omination, which might;be-identioi l higher than the spurious. coin, whether the latter is madeof iron, ironv alloys, steel, lead in appearance, weight, and ize. to hebona or Zinc, alloys, and the like. Thus, the bona i tide and spuriouscoins can be discriminated positively, quickly, easily, automatically,and without previous separation or examination.

One particular form of theapparatus of this invention includes ahousing, preferably of rigid metal, with a coin slot at or near the top,preferablythree rigid inclined planes arranged in zigzag fashion to,form three passes or flights of decreasing steepness. Above the end ofthe first inclinedplane is an overhead anvil, and the beginning of thelast inclined plane is made horizontal while at the discharge end of thethird inclined plane is wall or partition which separates two chutes.One of these chutes. leads to the coin-controlled mechanism of themachine and is adapted to' receive bona fide coins, while the otherchute leads to a return cup or the like and is adapted to receivespurious coins and return them to the person who. at-

tempted to operate the machine therewith.

In operation, a coin of proper denomination inserted in the coin slotdrops edgewise upon the first inclined plane, bounces from the rigidsurface thereof, strikes the overhead anvil, and is deflected downwardlywith increased velocity upon the second inclined plane, along which itbounces until it rebounds irorn the opposite rigid side wall of.

the housing, and drops upon the horizontal surface of the third plane tobounce down the same, the several impacts to which the coin wassubjected during its passage having been additive or cumulative so thatthe rebound from this last side Wall is. accentuated accordingly. If thecoin is bona fide, the rebound will be considerable and it will fly overthe top 'of'the wall or partition below the end of the last coin flightand drop into the chute.

leading to the coin-controlled mechanism adapted to actuate or controlarticle vending apparatus, unlocking or preparing mechanism,change-making devices, or the like,

However, if the coin inserted in the coin slot is spurious, theaccumulated bounces thereof. in passing thro gh the e ra fl gh of theapparatus. will. h insufliei n to a ry it over the wall or parti ionand; i i l s r k the latter and iall, into thereturn hut t rugged,fool-proof, simple and has no moving :parts. For a better understandingof th1s invention a preferred embodiment thereof rejected and returnedto the person who inserted it into the coin slot. The resiliency orspringiness of spurious coins is generally less than that of bona fidecoins and renders them amenable to detection and rejection by the deviceof this invention. The slugs of low resiliency do not reboundsufficiently from the first inclined plane to engage the overhead anvil,so that their resiliency is not accentuated at this point. Also,the-slugs drop ofi the end of the second plane without engaging the sidewall, so that they fall straight down on the horizontal portion of thethird plane and consequently rebound straight up, whereby they have nostart down the third plane and frequently have insufficient velocity toreach the side wall and so drop directly into the ejector chute. Thus,the several flights through which the coins are passed through thedevice decrease the rebound of slugs and in this way serve to accentuatethe difference between good coins and slugs, whereby the discriminationof the device is sharp and more critical. I

The nearest approach to bona fide colns, 1n

,sofar as resiliency or springiness is concerned, ,is found inslugsconta n ng the common magnetic metals such asiron, steel, or the1ralloys,

and in order to make their detection certain, no matter how closely theresiliency of the corresponding bona fide coin is imitated, a magnet isplaced at the beginning of the last 1 flight to retard the rebound ofspurious coins of magnetic metal, so that they will drop into theejector chute. r It will be seen that the spurious coin detector andejector of this invention auto- ,matically discriminates between goodcoins and slugs with an unusual degree of accuracy and positiveness, andat the same time it is will be described in connection ,wit-htheaccompanying drawlng, in which V Figure 1 is an interior view of thespurious coin detector and ejector of this invention as seen when thecover plate is removed; and Fig. 2 is a. transverse section thereof asseen along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

In this drawing, numeral 10 designates a frame upon which the device ofthis invention may be mounted, and may consist of a change makingmachine frame, coin controlled telephone casing, merchandise or servicevending machine housing, or the like.

The device of this invention preferably consists of a back plate 12 uponthe front of whichis secured by screws 13 a pair of rigid metallicstrips 14 and 1 5 which may be referred to as vertical anvils or anvilguides since they guide the coins which bounce therefrom to thenextlowest inclinedanvil.

These vertical anvils: or anvil guides maybe stralght or have anirregular configuration,

so long as they extend upwardly from the upper ends of the inclinedanvils to guide the descending coins thereto. These strips 14 and 15 arepreferably made of brass or other resilient material and are recessed ontheir inner edges for the reception of front cover plate 16, which isremovably secured to the strips by screws 17, and is space'd'from theback plate 12 of a sufficient distance to accommodate a coin ofpredetermined denomination, as seen in Fig. 2.

.Gommunicating with the interior of the housing thus formed is a coinchute 18, which is preferably arranged to discharge into one side of thehousing a coin inserted therein, such as the left side as seen inFig. 1,and is arranged to accommodate a coin of proper predetermineddenomination. Placed immediately below the discharge end ofcoin chute18, so that the latter directs a coin thereupon, is an inclined anvil 19preferably of solid metal such as brass and shaped in the form of atriangular inclined plane secured to the back plate 12 by means of thescrews or rivets 20'. By careful experiment and calculation, the properpitch of this first inclined anvil 19 has been found to be between 23and 27, dependingnpon the size and weight of the coin which is to beinserted in illustrated, the shortest distance between it and the firstinclined anvil 19 being slightly greater than the diameter of'the coinwhich coin chute 18 accommodates. 7

Located immediately below the discharge or lower end of first inclinedanvil 19 and sloping downwardly from'right hand verti-,

cal anvil 15, is a second inclined anvil 23, also formed of brass orother heavy metal so'as to be r g d, and secured by screws or rivets 24to the backplate12. By careful experiment, the proper pitch ofthissecond in clincd anvil 23 has been found to lie between 20 and 23.

Mounted immediately below the discharge or lowerend of second inclinedanvil 23 and located adjacent left hand'vertical anvil 14 is a thirdinclined anvil 25, also formed of brass or other'heavy metal so-as to berigid,

and securedto the back plate 12 by means of 1 screws or rivets 26. Theupper edge of this third anvil 25,1smade with a horizontal portion toform a surface which serves as a horizontal anvil 27 located adjacentthe left hand ment, the proper pitch of this third inclined communicateswith a receiving chute 35 which discharges into a coin controlled device36 of any form, such as acoin or token vending machine, telephonecontact device, merchandise or service vending machine, or the like, theparticular apparatus which the purchase coin controls being immaterialto the present invention, asthe invention is adapted to any use whereinthe detection and ejection of spurious coins is desired.

Suitably secured to the back plate 12 is a permanent magnet 37, whosepoles lie adjacent horizontal anvil 27, as seen in Fig. 1, so as toinfluence magnetic coins rebounding from this horizontal anvil 27 andadjacent anvils.

' It will be observed that the three inclined anvils, 19, 23, and 28,are arranged in zigzag fashion between theback plate and the front plate16 and have decreasing degrees of steepness, and the vertical anvils 14and 15 are located at'the beginnings and ends of each flight of thiszigzag arrangement. Accordingly, the coin inserted in coin chute 18follows a zigzag path through the device,

engaging each of the anvils in each pass if a. genuine coin of properdenomination, and missing some of these anvils if a spurious coin, eventhough its weight and dimensions maybe identical to those of thecorrespondent genuine coin. This is the general rule in regard tospurious coins, but it has some exceptions which will be discussedlater.

In operation, a prospective purchaser of coins or tokens, merchandise,service, or the like, drops a coin of proper denomination into the coinchute 18. Assuming first that the coin so dropped into the coin chute 18is genuine, it will follow the path indicated by the unshaded phantomcoin in Fig. 1. The first effect is a rebound from the upper end orfirst inclined anvil 19, this rebound'be ng considerable and causing thecoin to engage overhead anvil 21, following the trajectory indicated inFig. 1. The overhead anvil 21 deflects the coin downwardly withincreased velocity, so that it strikes the right hand vertical anvil 15before it engages the second inclined anvil 23. The coin then reboundsfrom second inclined anvil 23 against the left hand vertical anvil 1 1,missingthe horizontal anvil 27,. and rebounding from the third inclinedanvil 28 against the right hand vertical anvil 15 as indicated. Theresilient genuine coin, during its three flights through the zigzagpasses of the device has had its rebound or resilient effect accentuatedbecause of the additive results of its rebounds 310 from the vertical 1and successive inclined anvils. Itaccordingly strikes the right handanvil adjacent the discharge end 29 of lower anvil with considerableforce, so th'atit rebounds therefrompver the partition. 30 5 and intothe receiving chute to operate the coin controlled device '36,whateverit may be.

I Now, assuming that the coin dropped in coin chute 18 is spurious, and:assuming further that it isan extremely heavy slug of low resiliency,such as one whose principal ingredient is lead, and which will operatemost coin controlled devicesbecause of its weight, the lead slug, infalling by-gravity through coin chute 18 scarcely rebounds at all frominclined anvil 19, but rolls downit without engaging overhead anvil :21,since it does not bound up toeng'age the latter.

Having a specific gravity considerably higher than the specific gravityof a genuine :coinfi its trajectory off theend of inclined anvil 19 islow, and so it drops almostdirectly downwardly upon the second inclinedanvil 23 withoutengaging right hand vertical anvil 15, or at leastwithout engaging the latter with sufiicie'nt force to cause the slug'torebound therefrom, a-nd the slug follows-the trajectory indicated by theshaded coin'in Fig. 1. The lead slug scarcely rebounds from the secondinclined anvil 23,"but'rolls"" down it and ofi" the discharge endthereofwith relatively low velocity, that is-to say, velocity which has notbeen augmented by successive rebounds from the l preceding anvils, aswas the case with the genuine coin.

of incidence on this horizontal anvil-27 is small, it bounces almostdirectly upwardly,

though it may engage the left hand anvil 145 lightly. Then, dependingupon its composite tion, it may bounce one or two more times uponhorizontal anvil 27 before descending third inclined anvil 28. Havinglost most of its velocity by this time, the slug simply rolls off thedischarge end 29 of anvil '25 directly into the ejector chute 33, whichdischarges it into cup 34sto be returned to the person who attempted tooperate the coin controlled-device36 therewith. The action of thespurious coinj-ust describeddepends upon its composition,;and though themajority of slugs contain alarge quantity of lead and act as describedabove, Certain yp s a-re'made of more resilient materials and reboundthrough the device to a degree greater than the lead slug, but less thanthe genuine coin. However, in general, the resultant resilient efliectof slugs passing through the device is less than that of genuine coins,and the slugs do not have as'uflicient rebound from the right hand,-vertical anvil at the end of the third flight to fly over partition 30.On the contrary, theyrstrike this partition on the right hand side anddrop into ejector chute 33 after rebounding insufficiently from righthand anvil 15, or they miss the partition altogether and drop directlyinto the ejector chute 33. 1

It has been found that slugs made of magnetic metals, such as iron,steel, or their alloys, more closely approach the resiliency orspringiness of corresponding genuine coins, though their specificgravities are considerably lower. Under ordinary circumstances, moreresilient coins of magnetic metal are rejected by the device becausethey are lighter than the corresponding-genuine coin and havesufficiently less resiliency to render their passage over partitionimpossible. How ever, in case the resiliency ofa magnetic slug of thisdescription is equal or corresponding- ,ly greater than thecorresponding genuine coin so that it might fly over the partition 30, amagnet 37 placed at the end of the second flight adjacent the horizontalanvil 27 retards the rebound of the magnetic slug at this point, so thatits augmented resiliency up to this point is damped and it simply rollsdown the third inclined anvil 28 into the ejector chute 33. At least theback plate 12 upon which the magnet 37 is mounted is made of brass orsome other permeable metal, so

that the magnetic flux of the magnet is not shielded from the path ofthe coins passing through the device.

1 It will be seen that the-spurious coin detector and ejector of thisinvention has many advantages over those used heretofore, in that itembodies a means for accentuating or augmenting the natural resilienteffects of all genuine coins and for decreasing the natural resilienteffects. of spurious coins after they I have passed through the severalflights in the device and have engaged the numerous anvils therein. Thepeculiar arrangement of the anvils, both inclined, vertical, and theoverhead anvil associated with the first inclined anvil, as well as thedecreasing pitch of the inclined anvils, serves to procure thesepeculiar results whereby all. spurious coins are ejected and all genuinecoins are received, even though the latter may be slightly mutilated orWorn thin. It is also preferred that the inclined anvils 19, 23, and 25be made adjustable so as to vary their pitch within the limits describedto accommodate coins of dif- I ferent denomination, although in mostcases the device will have to be changed throughoutwhen used with coinsof different denomi- .nations, because of the wide differences in sizesbetween coins of different denominations. V r 1 It is apparent that thedevice of this invention is extremely simple, inexpensive, and inherein,it is to be understood that this invention is not to be limited thereby,but is susceptible of various changesin form and detail within itsscope.

Iclaim:

1. Ina spurious coin detector and ejector,

the combination of a plurality of inclined anvils arranged in zigzagseries, a coin guide leadingto the first anvil, the inclination of saidanvils decreasing from first to last, and a partition adjacent thedischarge end of the last anvil for-separating spurious coins fromgenuine coins in accordance with their resultant resilient effects aftertraversing said anvils. s

2. In a spurious coin detector and ejector, the combination of aplurality of inclined .anvils arranged in zigzag series, a coin guideleading to the first anvil, a substantially vertical anvil adjacent thedischarge end of each inclined anvil, and a partition adjacent thedischarge end of the last inclined anvil and spaced from thecorresponding vertical anvil for separating spuriouscoins from genuinecoins in accordance with their resultant resilient effects aftertraversing said anvils.

f 3. In a spurious coin detector and ejector, the combination of aplurality of inclined anvils arranged in zigzag series, a coin guideleading to the first anvil, a deflecting anvil above the discharge endof one of said inclined anvils for downwardly deflecting a coinrebounding from the corresponding inclined anvil, and a partitionadjacent the discharge end of the last inclined anvil for separatingspurious coins in accordance with their resultant resilient effectsafter traversing said anvils. V

. 4. In aspurious coin detector and ejector, the combination of aplurality of inclined anvils arranged in zigzagseries, a coin guideleading to the first anvil, a substantially horizontal anvil associatedwith one of said inclined anvils, and a partition adjacent the dischargeend of the lastinclined anvil for separating spurious coins inaccordance with their resultant resilient effects after traversing saidanvils. i

5. In a spuriouscoin detector and ejector, the combination of apluralityof inclined anvils arranged in zigzag series, a coin guide leading tothe first anvil, a deflecting anvil above the discharge end of one ofsaid inclined anvils,.a substantially vertical anvil adjacent thedischarge end of one of said inclined anvils, and a partition adjacentthe their resultant resilient effects after traversing said anvils. V

6. In a spurious c'oin detector and ejector, the combination of aplurality of inclined anvils arranged in zigzag series, a coin guideleading to the first anvil, a substantially horizontal anvil associatedwith one of said inclined anvils, a substantially vertical anviladjacent the discharge end of one of said inclined anvils, and apartition adjacent the discharge end of the last inclined anvil forseparating spurious coins in accordance with their resultant resilienteffects after traversing said anvils.

7. In a spurious coin detector and ejector, the combination of aplurality of inclined anvils arranged in zigzag series, a coin guideleading to the first anvil, a magnet adjacent one of said anvils forretarding the rebound of spurious coins having magnetic properties, anda partition adjacent the discharge end of the last inclined anvil forseparating spurious coins in accordance with their resultant resilienteffects after traversing said anvils.

8. In a spurious coin detector and ejector, the combination of aplurality of inclined anvils arranged in zigzag series, a coin guideleading to the first anvil, a deflecting anvil above the discharge endof one of said inclined anvils, a substantially horizontal anvilassociated with one of said inclined anvils, and a partitionadjacent'the discharge end of the last inclined anvil for separatingspurious coins in accordance with their resultant resilient effectsafter traversing said anvils.

9. In a spurious coin detector and ejector, the combination of asubstantially horizontal anvil, means for guiding a coin to said anvil,an inclined anvil associated with said horizontal anvil and leadingdownwardlv therefrom, and a substantially vertical anvil adjacent saidhorizontal anvil, said horizontal anvil extending between said verticaland inclined anvils.

10. In a spurious coin detector and ejector, the combination of a framehaving side walls, a plurality of inclined anvils arranged in zigzagfashion between said walls, a coin chute leading to the first inclinedanvil, and a partition adjacent the discharge end of the last anvil andadjacent the corresponding side wall, whereby the genuine and spuriouscoins are separated in accordance with their resultant resilient efiectsafter traversing the successive anvils.

11. In a spurious coin detector and ejector,

thje combination of a frame, a, plurality of jresilient effects aftertraversing.thesuccessive '12. In a spurious coin detector and ejector,

inclined "anvils arranged in the frame in downward zigzag serles, adeflecting anvil adj agent; the discharge end of at least one of saidzanvils for downwardly deflecting a coin g rebounding noma one anvil,guide mernbers extending upwardly from the upper end 1 0f said anvilsfor directing coins on the corresponding anvil s, ap'artition adjacentthe discharge end ofthe last inclined anvil'for -separatinglspuriouscoins fromgenuin'e coins W "in accordance with their resultant. reslient effects after, travers ng the successive anvils.

13. In 'a' spurious coin detectorand ejector, the combination ofa framehavingclose- 9, "1y spaced jwalls permitting a coin to freely moveflatwise between them, a coin chute leading between the walls, adownwardly in- 'clined,anvil between the walls below the discharge endof the coin chute, an anvil guide 2 extending upwardly from the upperend of said inclinfed-anvil, a second inclined anvil below thefirst'anvil and extending downwardly in the opposite. directiontherefrom,

a second anvil guide extending upwardly 1 from the upper end of thesecond anvil adj acent the lo-werend of the first anvil and spacedtherefrom, a third inclined anvil below the second. inclined anvil andextending downwardly in the opposite direction therefrom a third anvilguide extending upwardly from the upper end of the third anvil adj acentthe lower end of the second anvil and spaced therefrom, a fourth anvilguide adjacent the free end of the third anvil and spaced therefrom, anda partition below the lower end of the third inclined anvil and spacedfrom the fourth anvil guide for separating spurious coins and genuinecoins in accordance with their resultant resilient efr fects.

14. In a spurious coin detector and ejector, the combination of a.frame, a coin chute thereon, a plurality of inclined anvils arranged indownward zigzag series in the, frame, the upper inclined anvil lyingbeneath J the coin chute, an anvil guide mounted on the frame andextending upwardly from the upper end of each inclined anvil fordirecting coins on the corresponding inclined an vils, the lower end ofeach inclined anvil be-- ing spaced from the anvil guide of the nextlower inclined anvil, a rebound anvil mounted on the frame opposite thelower end of the lowest inclined anvil,and a partition mounted on theframe adjacent the lower end of this lowest inclined anvil and spacedfrom said rebound anvil for separating spurious coins from genuine coinsin accordance with their resultant resilient effects after traversingthe successive anvils.

15. In a spurious coin detector and ejector,

the combination of a frame, a coin chute thereon, a plurality ofinclined anvils arranged in downward zigzag series in the frame theupper anvil lying beneath the coin chute, an anvil guide mounted on theframe and extending upwardly from the upper end of each inclined anvilfor directing coins on the corresponding inclined anvils, the lower endof each inclined anvil being spaced from the guideof the next lowerinclined anvil, a rebound anvil mounted on the frame opposite the lowerend of the lowest inclined anvil; a partition mounted on the frameadjacent the lower end of this lowest inclined anvil and spaced fromsaid rebound inclined anvil for separating spurious coins fromgenuinecoins 1n accordance with then resultant resilient effects aftertraversingthe successive anvlls,

, and a deflecting anvil mounted on the frame to overhang the dischargeend of at least one of said inclined anvils and spaced therefrom fordownwardly deflecting a coin rebounding from said one anvil.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

T EMIL tn RYSS.

